RECORDINGS

RECORDINGS; Sifting Through Bushels of Beethoven

Published: January 8, 1989

(Page 3 of 3)

Far better are the installments in two more cycles. Surprisingly (given the rather pedantic nature of some of his appearances here), Andre Previn and the Royal Philharmonic offer convincing accounts of the Sixth and Seventh, as well as three overtures. The Sixth is especially winning, a sweet, personal, chamber-music approach to a symphony too often blustered through unfeelingly. The Seventh isn't quite so good, but it sustains the hope that this cycle as a whole will offer more in the way of personal insight than most present-day sets can provide.

Better still is Christoph von Dohnanyi's pairing of the Fifth and Seventh with the Cleveland Orchestra. Mr. von Dohnanyi makes a virtue of the sober, straightforward style espoused by so many contemporary conductors. These are the kind of performances one gets from Mr. Haitink, but more fully realized: sober, conscientious, rich and deeply satisfying. Mr. von Dohnanyi is unashamed of the full resources of the modern orchestra. And here he has the players to realize his vision, lovingly recorded by Telarc's engineers. No Best Approach

There are lessons to be learned from this self-inflicted Beethoven onslaught. One is that mediocrity almost invariably accounts for the vast majority of anything, and so it's no surprise that most of these recordings are mediocre, compared to the very best. That doesn't make them or their performers bad musicians. But it does call into question the taste and the financial probity of the record companies that keep recording and releasing them.

The other, more important lesson is that no one approach to these masterpieces is inherently superior. I myself have a taste for period-instrument performances: at their best, they seem to reveal Beethoven's intentions (the reason for his tempo indications, the rightness of his instrumentation and balances, the true ferocity and gentleness of his personality) better than more cushioned, homogenized alternatives.

Yet passion and musicality are far more vital than mere timbres and tempos; in other words, spirit must animate matter if matter is to mean anything. There is still something grand and meaningful about the Beethoven performance tradition, as partly documented on records and preserved by the best modern mainstream conductors, that can provide deep satisfaction.

Composers live through their interpreters. And with the best of our time's performers - and it is by the best that we judge past performing eras - Beethoven is very much alive today. SYMPHONIES, SOME OR ALL

Here is detailed information about the recordings, both complete sets and individual releases, of the Beethoven symphonies discussed in the accompanying article. Some include other music as well.

Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Smithsonian Chamber Orchestra; Jaap Schroder. Smithsonian Collection of Recordings ND 0321 and 0324; currently only available as part of a larger set of Beethoven works on original instruments, ND 0320, six CD's and LP's or five cassettes.